No Time Like The Present
by Laura Schiller
Summary: Based on "Before and After". "I don't want to lose what I had ... or will have ... with Tom. It seems a pity not to at least try."


No Time Like The Present

By Laura Schiller

Based on: Star Trek Voyager

Copyright: Paramount

Kes sighed as she snipped the deadheads off a red rosebush in the airponics bay. She had come here to relax, to get back into herself after all the turbulence of the last few – hours? Days? Years? Whatever it had been. However, her head was still whirling with unanswerable questions and worries.

Would her report on the Krenim help at all? Now that she knew what might happen six months from now, could she protect the Captain and Lieutenant. Torres? Would they die regardless of what she did? And Tom … that was a dilemna all to itself.

It was the oddest thing to see him standing there, his blue eyes crinkled with friendly laughter, remembering those same eyes overflowing with joy at the birth of their daughter; to hear him greet her with "Hey, Kes," and remember him tenderly describing their wedding.

"_Let me give you another installment of 'Tom and Kes: The Early Years' … At the time, I thought it was the happiest day of my life – but every day after that just got better and better."_

She leaned her head against the cool metal shelf where the plants were stored. How was she to resolve this situation? She couldn't even talk to anyone without breaking the Temporal Prime Directive.

But then again, she had already broken it with her description of the Krenim and their weapons, and when she had let slip to Neelix that in her timeline, he received a Starfleet commission and became a security officer. Would one more transgression make a difference?

"Computer," she said, "Locate Lieutenant Tuvok."

"Lieutenant Tuvok is in his quarters."

"Kes to Tuvok?"

"Tuvok here."

"I need to talk to you."

*

Tuvok and Kes sat cross-legged opposite each other at a low table, in a darkened room lit only by a few candles. It was the way Tuvok always kept his room; he would not admit it, but Kes suspected he found it comforting. She poured out her entire story to her teacher and surrogate father, who listened with motionless, steady attention as only a Vulcan could.

When she finished, there was a silence. Tuvok's dark eyes glittered like marbles, betraying no emotion, as usual.

"I know I'm being very emotional about this," said Kes, half apologetic.

"That is only to be expected, Kes."

"So what do you think I should do?"

A wrinkle appeared between Tuvok's slanted eyebrows, one of the few facial movements he permitted himself. It could signify confusion, deep thought or even anger.

"The logical choice," he said, "Would be to simply let events unfold at their own pace. It is not certain if this timeline will come to pass, therefore worrying about it will not help you."

"It had better not," said Kes, with a shudder. "Not if the Captain and Lieutenant Torres have to die!"

She thought she caught a flicker of apprehension from him through her empathic senses, but he tucked it away.

"But," she continued, "I don't want to lose what I had … or might have … with Tom. We were so happy – I only remember bits and pieces, but still … and Harry Kim became our son-in-law, Harry, who's had such bad luck with romance on this journey … " Intercepting Tuvok's look, she added: "Oh, I know there's no guarantee that it'll come true … it just seems a pity not even to try."

"Do you know Mr. Paris's current … opinion of you?"

Kes sighed. "That's the other thing. My husband … the other Tom … told me he had 'a crush on me from the first'. I've never noticed it, but when I look back, it might be true. That flying lesson program he designed especially for me … all his jokes and smiles and the way he looks at me … but he also likes Lieutenant Torres!"

"Do you have evidence?"

Kes had to giggle. That was the Chief of Security coming out in him. "Evidence? It's hardly a crime scene, Tuvok. Anyway … yes, I do. They argue all the time – the sort of arguments people get into when they're attracted to each other and won't admit it."

"They are quite volatile individuals."

"Right." Kes made a face.

"I would suggest," said Tuvok, "That you inform Mr. Paris of your intentions. That way, he will choose the most suitable mate for himself."

_And if he doesn't choose me?_ If a firebrand like B'Elanna was Tom's ideal, then Kes, a born peacemaker, didn't stand a chance. Not to mention the issue of her lifespan; how could the human Tom, with seven decades or more ahead of him, marry Kes and be widowed in six years? One might as well marry an immortal.

Kes knew what Tuvok would say – something along the lines of _You will adapt_ or _It cannot be helped_ – so she didn't ask.

"Thank you for listening, Tuvok," she said. "And for your advice. I … I'll think about it."

Kes stood up, nodded to her older friend and left the room. She continued down the gray-walled, curving corridor, still deep in thought.

What was love? Two years ago, a Talaxian with a funny face and kind eyes had found her crying behind her Kazon master's tent. He had not only wiped the blood off her split lip, but given her a sip from his water bottle – water, on a desert planet! She had thought he was an angel sent by the Caretaker, and had been confirmed in her views when he whisked her away onto a starship full of warm-hearted humans.

Neelix had never abused her, unlike the Kazon, but he had owned her all the same. He had all but smothered her with endearments, kisses, new recipes, and endless talk. He had looked phaser beams at any man who said hello to her in the corridor, reserving a special venom for Tom (and now she knew why). He was still a kind man and could always make her laugh, but at some point, enough was enough.

Kes had no illusions that being with Tom would be perfect. He tended to be arrogant and sarcastic, not to mention slightly obsessed with the holodeck – but at least he'd never treat her like a child.

If she were piloting a shuttlecraft with Neelix, he would be wringing his hands, muttering Talaxian prayers and eventually nudge her out of the seat. Tom would keep his cool and let her fly.

Kes was three years and two months old. In another year or so, her Elogium would set in – for real this time, not a fluke caused by a spatial anomaly. She knew she wanted children, as she had decided on that frightening day in the first months of the voyage. And if she wanted children (the name Linnis came to mind; an impromptu birth in a shuttlecraft and a blonde, blue-eyed baby who would grow up to wear a Starfleet uniform) she would have to find a father.

*

Holodeck One was running Tom's _Chez Sandrine_ program. The bar was almost empty except for some shady characters drinking in corners, a few young crewmembers playing pool, and Tom, perched on a bar stool and sipping a glass of something yellow.

He waved to Kes as she came in.

"Hey," he said, in that way of his that nearly stretched the sound into two syllables. "How's it goin'?"

"Fine, Tom, and you?"

She sat down next to him and ordered an apple juice, which the holographic bartender slid towards her with a grunt.

"Good … so, can you tell me about your life back in the future? Or would it break the Temporal Prime Directive?"

"I'm afraid that's classified information, Lieutenant," she said, trying her best to keep a straight face in imitation of Tuvok. Instead, her face bloomed into a mischievous, knowing smile.

"Don't tell me Chakotay was right about me ending up in a monastery."

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed, laughing; the idea was too absurd.

"You sound shocked. Don't think I'm virtuous enough?"

"You would be bored out of your mind."

"You betcha."

Were they flirting? This was another area in which she had little experience; her only attempt at seduction had been Tieran's while his consciousness was in control of her body, and she didn't care to think about that.

"So what brings you here?" asked Tom. "Are you … having trouble wrapping your head around it? That tends to happen with alternate universes."

"Oh, I know … but it's opened up several possibilities I hadn't considered before. How many other Keses are out there, I wonder, in alternate realities? Is there one who never left the underground city in her homeworld? Is there one who stayed with Neelix? Because of the choices I've made that led me here, I'll never be those women. Interesting, isn't it?"

Tom took a sip from his beer. "I'll say … Harry woke up in an alternate universe once, one where he never got to Voyager. He had a great job designing shuttles for Starfleet, a gorgeous fiançée … it must've been hard to go back."

"Go back?" Kes inquired.

"Yeah … " Tom's smile took on a self-deprecating air. "He says he found the counterpart of … of me, drinking and killing time in a bar. This bar, actually, or rather its original, back on Earth. Harry thought he – I – deserved something better. So he found a way to get back to this universe and left his Libby behind."

"He's a good friend."

"Yeah. I've been really lucky in my friends … especially you, Kes."

His blue eyes caught hers; the look in them was warm and loving, the same look he had sometimes given her during flying lessons. The look she had seen in the eyes of her mate.

The trouble with alternate timelines, thought Kes, was that one never knew how they would turn out. But that was true of the real future as well. She did not know if Tom and B'Elanna would make a good match, or if any of them would even survive the journey; all she knew was the present.

"Are you sure friendship is all we have, Tom?" she asked, her voice soft and low.

"That depends." He leaned in a little closer.

"On what?"

"On this."

He kissed her – just a brief touch of her lips, but it sent heat to her face and the pit of her stomach. The slightly bitter buzz of synthehol was on his breath; she didn't care. It was just what a first kiss should be.

Tuvok had told her to let Tom choose. Apparently he had.

"I've been wanting to do that for a long time," Tom whispered, still so close that his breath touched her face. "But you were with Neelix, and then there was Tieran and the break-up and that time the Doctor kidnapped you … it never felt like the right moment."

"Well," said Kes, cupping his cheek with her hand. "As I said earlier today … "

"There's no time like the present," they chorused.


End file.
